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| - Last Updated on August 18, 2022 by Neelam Singh
Quick Take
A number of social media posts present bananas as a fruit that can help you get rid of anxiety and stress and lift your moods instantly. We fact checked and found these claims to be Half True. Bananas are a good source of serotonin – a mood balancing compound. But they are not superfoods that can make your anxiety go away instantly.
The Claim
Promoted as a ‘natural cure’ against stress and anxiety, bananas are projected as a superfood on social media for mental health. While many posts link to some researches done in this aspect, they get the conclusive result wrong. Such posts can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
Can we measure stress?
Yes. Stress can measured in multiple ways like self-report measures, behavioral coding, and physiological measurements like heart rate variability, breath frequency and blood pressure. Catecholamine and cortisol levels can be measured in the blood and urine are also taken as stress indicators in a person.
Is Stress a bad thing?
Stress is not always a bad thing. A certain amount of stress acts as a motivator for human beings. In other words, in the long term, stress can negatively impact us, but in the short term, stress can have a positive impact on us and our behaviour. However, the ability to handle stress varies from person to person. Stress can have several physical and psychological effects. If left unchecked, it can contribute to various health problems such as high blood pressure, heart diseases, insomnia, etc. Failure to seek professional help when we are failing to handle stress by ourselves can lead to depression and other health issues.
Can bananas help in anxiety or stress reduction?
Probably, to some extent. But there is no conclusive evidence.
Bananas are nutrient rich fruits. Many of the nutrients in bananas can directly or indirectly contribute to reduce stress. For example, People who are deficient of potassium, an important electrolyte in our body, may suffer from hypertension. Bananas are a rich source of potassium and can help fulfil the need of potassium in body thereby managing hypertension.
In a study done on mice, researchers noted that “supplementation of banana could be taken a vital role in stress (anxiety and depression).” But in another study it is noted that serotonin, the mood enhancing compound in bananas, cannot enter brain from blood stream. Despite this, it is good to depend on bananas for improving mood. Just that we should not be expecting an instant miracle cure by eating a single banana. When the stress is too much to handle, it is advisable to seek professional help. Bananas can act as a good supplement to other treatment methodologies for stress.
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